'A patient hung up on me after hearing my accent'

Nurses have spoken of being on the receiving end of a "catastrophic rise in racism" in recent years.

The annual conference of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Liverpool heard from nurses who described patients refusing to be treated by black nurses, or to speak to those with foreign accents.

The union said calls to its helpline from staff seeking advice after facing discrimination had risen by 70% in recent years.

Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said racism against NHS staff "is totally unacceptable", and that all local organisations "must take a zero-tolerance approach... taking action including police involvement and criminal prosecution as appropriate".

Beverley Nwosu, from Liverpool, said some patients "do not want the black person looking after them".

"They say things like 'go back to your country', 'go back to where you came from', or 'I want the best British hand to look after me'," she said.

Ms Nwosu, who is the RCN's Black Asian and Minority Ethnic lead for the Greater Liverpool and Knowsley branch also said it was not just patients who were prejudiced. She said she had also experienced incidents where colleagues had questioned her qualifications and training, or seemed to have looked at her with suspicion.

A nurse on the Isle of Man said she had experienced indirect instances of racism, where people "don't say to our faces, but with their actions".

Faridat Ibidun, originally from Nigeria, works as a nurse with Manx Care, the island's healthcare provider.

She said she was "shocked" when a patient refused to speak to her on the phone because of her accent.

The 25-year-old said the incident happened recently while she was calling a patient. She said the patient said he did not want to speak to her "just because I've got a foreign accent", before hanging up.

"For a few minutes, I just couldn't believe it," she said.

The RCN submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to NHS trusts and health boards across the UK, with 106 responses providing data.

It showed 21,725 reported incidents involving racial abuse or discrimination between 2022 and 2025.

The RCN suggests the true figure would be upward of 40,000 if all NHS trusts had effective reporting systems in place.

RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said the findings showed "a catastrophic rise in the racist abuse faced by nursing staff" and described the situation as a "disgrace".

The union is calling on health leaders and governments across the UK to "get a grip" of the crisis by delivering standardised and streamlined incident reporting.

Duncan Burton, chief nursing offficer for England, said staff that experienced or witnessed racist incidents were encouraged to report them "so that action can be taken".

"It is essential that all staff feel safe to speak up and confident that action will be taken, and the NHS has set out targeted action required by local organisations, including reviewing disciplinary processes and providing protection and comprehensive psychological support for anyone reporting concerns," he said.

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